RINGWOOD — Residents on Thursday expressed frustration with an Environmental Protection Agency plan that would remove thousands of tons of toxic waste from the Upper Ringwood Superfund site but leave some of the material behind.

The EPA outlined options for a $46.7 million removal of arsenic, lead and other contaminants during a well-attended hearing at the Martin J. Ryerson Middle School. The agency also presented its "preferred options" that would include carting off hazardous material in some places and installing a soil cap in others.

MAP: EPA'S PLANS FOR RINGWOOD SUPERFUND

But residents told EPA representatives they wanted to see all of the toxic waste removed and the sites restored to the state they were in before the Ford Motor Company dumped the paint sludge and other harmful material in the 1960s and 70s.

"Take it out," Tony Langhorne, who lives near one of the sites, said during the hearing. "Don't cap it. This covering up under the carpet's not going to work. If you get it out, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

The EPA is finalizing its plans to conduct another clean-up of three sites in the borough where a Ford subsidiary dumped toxic paint sludge and other industrial waste from its assembly plant in Mahwah into former iron mines through the 1960s and 70s.

It's the latest in a long history of clean-up attempts dating back to the early 1980s, when the site was first placed on the National Priorities list. The site holds the dubious distinction of being the first federal Superfund to be re-listed in the program.

Much of the affected area is home to the Ramapoughs, a state-recognized Native American tribe, many of whom worked in the mines back when they were in operation and later saw mob-controlled waste haulers dump the sludge into the mines and surrounding wooded areas.

The Ramapoughs have reported alarmingly high rates of certain diseases, including cancer, asthma and skin problems — problems that were explored in the 2010 HBO documentary "Mann V. Ford."

Tribal members told EPA officials Thursday night that the harmful chemicals on the site have caused hundreds of deaths over the past few decades.

"We're going through pure hell with what we've lost and what we're still dealing with," said Vivian Milligan, a Ramapough and member of the site's Community Advisory Group.

Under the EPA's preferred options, a permeable cap would be placed on the Peter's Mine pit and the Cannon Mine would be capped off. A landfill at the O’Connor Disposal Area would be entirely excavated — though EPA officials said they recently learned that the borough is considering building a new recycling center on the site, which could alter their plans to remove all of the material (Read a detailed description here).

The agency is also conducting groundwater monitoring on the sites, and has reported elevated levels of lead and arsenic in some of its test wells. They said a long-term groundwater plan was in the works.